Sunday, May 29, 2005

Welcome

Greetings, Murder Mystery Party Fans!

Many of you have asked us how you can be in touch with other murder mystery party fans around the world. The result - it's quite elementary! Our NEW FREE Blog puts you in contact with people in all parts of the globe who share your interest in intriguing challenging events.

Post your comments and questions here. Return often to view responses from other whodunit buffs. Plus, I'll add a comment or two myself.

Happy blogging and sleuthing,
Jack Pachuta
The Chief Inspector

28 comments:

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for your question, flanaganj. You can download free sample instructions for one of my mysteries by going to:

http://www.mysteries-on-the-net.com/instructions_hills.pdf.

They'll answer a lot of questions for you.

Jack Pachuta said...

Sylveen, it would be better to have them at the same table - sort of a Wild West roast, but different tables could work. Make sure each suspect greets Dusty as he or she is introduced.

Anonymous said...

DO YOU HAVE A MURDER MYSTERY INVOLVING
ART..PAINTINGS?

Jack Pachuta said...

Sorry, no art mystery - but I won't brush off the request and may color my thinking to picture one in the future.

Anonymous said...

I would love to host my first Murder Mystery Party as a birthday present. The Murder on the Petulent Express would be perfect as the theme completely fits the interests of the birthday boy. Do you know when that mystery will be ready? The party is late-August.

Thanks so much!

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for your question. I'm working on it this weekend and hope to have it done within the next few days.

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks, for your great comments, Fred. Give me a call if I can help.

Anonymous said...

Hey Chief -
I justdownloaded my 3rd & 4th mysteries! Our parties are always a blast! Thanks for all your hard work. I would LOVE to see a mystery themed on teas, quilting, army life (especially army spouses!) and rural living. Thanks again and I will let you know how "Disappearance of Death" goes at the end of this month! ~christina

Jack Pachuta said...

Christina, thanks so much for your comments. You make a Chief Inspector blush. Soon, you'll have solved so many cases that you'll be writing your own scenarios. I always want to know what my customers want, so thanks for the suggestions. Keep watching the site for upcoming whodunits.

Jack Pachuta said...

Lorelei, congratulations on the response. You'll have no problem. I've used that mystery for much bigger groups. Take a look at the step-by-step instructions. Divide the group into investigative teams. Yours will have 5-6 people each, then it's simple. The suspects rotate to each team for questioning and you're all set. Let me know how it goes.

Ition said...

I would like to host Evil Never Dies, I have hosted the wine mystery and your magician mystery. I would like to understand the difficulty compared to the other two mysteries I have hosted.
Thank you

Ition said...

I would like to understand the difficulty in solving the Evil Never Dies I would like to use t for a Halloweejn party. I have used both the wine mystery and the magician before. Can you provide a comparision please.

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for coming back a third time, TK. It's not easy for an author to totally evaluate the difficulty of a mystery - after all, I know what's happening as I write it. I would rate it closer to "Cabernet" than to "Disappearance." However, your group might come up with their own rating.

English Teacher said...

We are thinking about doing a party at christmas as a gift for our family. We have 3 brothers, 3 sisters, and mom and dad coming to the party. The ages range from 13-50. We were wondering if the Murder on the Petulant Express would be good for our first party? Can we find reviews anywhere for this one? It sounded interesting because we're from ohio, the characters sounded cool and her dad works for the beacon journal.

Jack Pachuta said...

Dear English Teacher, you'll have fun with this one. The plot has adult characters and I'd rate it PG-13, so take a look at how you assign roles to the younger members of your family. You'll find several testimonials about this mystery in the middle column of my home page. As always, my mysteries are guaranteed. If it's not what you're looking for, I'll either substitute another one or refund your money.

p.s. I was born near Cambridge and raised in Canton.

Anonymous said...

I have researched and downloaded several other murder mystery dinner scripts and strongly believe that yours are the best. The details of staging the show, the denouments and the clues are superior to those of other muder mystery competitors. I staged Death In Them Thar Hills before 150 people and Death Is a Cabernet Ol Chum before 190 people. Staging the "death" of the victim in fronty of the crowd really gets them going. Too many shows start with the death occurring the day or night before the actual dinner. Death on stage in full view of the audience pops the cork on actie participation by the table sleuths. More stories where the victim can be "eliminated" at the dinner would be appreciated. We always bring the victim back in some disguise so that he or she can enjoiy the rest of the show.

narnolia said...

I hope to host a party on New Years with about ten people attending and playing the roles. Can you recommend a suitable mystery for such a number of people. This seems to be the very thing for getting people jazzed up for a fun night!

narnolia said...

I am hoping to host a mystery party on New Years with about ten people. Can you recommend a mystery that is suitable for that many people to participate in? Is an MC necessary for every mystery?

I think this is the very thing to jazz everyone up for a night of fun!

Jack Pachuta said...

Thanks for your questions, narolia. Take a look at "Murder Plays A Sour Note." It's one of my vintage pieces and takes place on New Year's Eve 1955. Please have your tongue firmly planted in your cheek when reading the names of the suspects. And MC isn't totally necessary so laong as you have someone (one of the suspects could do this) keep the event moving.

Leigh said...

Jack,

I have you a mention on Criminal Brief today.

Unknown said...

I was wondering if there was a way to fill out the invites by using Microsoft Word or something like it instead of handwriting them all?

Wildbugs said...

I am hosting a small birthday dinner party for a friend with about only 6 or 7 people. I've heard that you need more than that to make things work well. I'm considering Life is a Cabernet. Do you think it will work with a group this small?

Jack Pachuta said...

Congratulations, Cindy! Many happy years together. If I understand what you are asking, you want a mystery in which the solution is "We're married." Alas, all of my mysteries involve murders. Through the years, I've had requests from others who want a marriage mystery. (But aren't they all?) It is on my list, yet not completed. Some have used my other kits for their nuptials. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Unknown said...

I am looking for a Halloween murder mystery that makes sense for audience members to wear costumes to. There are several out there, but the mysteries here have proven to be the easiest to implement. I am looking at the theatrical version of The Disappearance of Death, but... all those accents!! Eek! It's a bit intimidating! Are the accents necessary to the event?

Thanks!
Beth

Jack Pachuta said...

Beth,

Thanks for your question. Don't worry about the accents - the plot is the key. Since Radinski was famous worldwide, you'll have fun with the scope of the suspects' backgrounds - and some chuckles about the accents.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the quick reply! This will be our first time trying one of the theatrical versions, so I'm really excited!

Luci Love said...

This will be my third mystery dinner. We live 150 miles from any major city and I am having trouble finding a way to advertize it economically. We live 40 miles from three midsize towns. Because it is a new idea here, locals "don't get it". Other than facebook how can I advertize the event?

Jack Pachuta said...

Luci, try putting up a Facebook fan page. Call local radio stations to try to get free air time. Offer local businesses a chance to co-sponsor the event. Put up literature on public bulletin boards - and, of course, talk to people.